11:30am Saturday 27th February 2010
Blackburn Hawks are on the hunt for back-to-back wins for the second weekend running.
The local ice-hockey aces are hoping to pick up maximum points from today’s trip to Coventry Blaze and tomorrow’s home clash with basement club Kingston Jets.
Should they succeed, Hawks could climb above Coventry into fourth place in the English National Ice-Hockey League, with just two games left to play.
“That’s the incentive for the four-pointer,” said head coach Gary Buckman.
“If we can come away with two wins, we could go a point above Coventry in the table and that could make all the difference in the play-offs.
“First, third and fifth will be drawn together, whilst second, fourth and sixth will play each other, so it could mean the difference between playing Sheffield or playing Nottingham and Whitley Bay.
“The lads know what’s at stake and they’re certainly up for it.”
Having thrashed Kingston 10-0 away only seven days ago, tomorrow’s reverse fixture is expected to be another straight forward affair.
However, having lost two of their previous three meetings with the Blaze this season, Hawks can expect a much tougher test today, unaided by the absence of a number of key players.
Hawks are hoping to attract a bumper crowd to the Arena tomorrow (face-off 5.45pm), as they look to break the attendance record for an English League game.
Solihull currently hold the record with 800 fans, but Hawks are hoping to go higher. “We’re trying to get as many people down as possible,” Buckman said.
“We want to go out and break the record and get 1,000 people plus. If we can show people how entertaining hockey is, then next season we can look to attract really big crowds.
“There will lots of extra entertainment going on and our mascot, Harry the Hawk, will be making his first public appearance in about five or six years, so it should be an occasion not to be missed.”
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